Kelly Was Here (Read on FicFun now)

Chapter 28

"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

Kelly's P.O.V

"Where's Vince?" I asked for the thousandth time since we first got in the car. I fought against Miss Dorothy's hands as they tried to settle me down. My brain was constantly searching for any sign that he was alright, like a cell phone seeking a signal in the mountains.

No one answered, increasing the uncontrollable fire inside me. I was one step away from getting out of the moving car and run back to the cabin.

Mr. Colton drove, not the slightest bit bothered to answer my questions. How did he get the car, anyway? 

Everything had happened so fast. One moment I was with Thomas playing cards in our bedroom, trying to win our deal and get him to sleep, and the next Miss Dorothy was bursting in, her cheeks drained of any color, her shoulders trembling non-stop. She was a mess, and yet soon enough she was yelling at me to bring my stuff and get out. 

We were going back to the house.

I didn't have time to do anything other than what she had ordered. In five minutes we were getting inside the car with Miss Dorothy in the back seat. Everything was lost, and the worst part? There was no sight of Vince.

"Where's Vince?" I quivered yet again, my voice on the verge of a terrible scream. There was a cutting tensing swimming in the atmosphere of the car, venom dancing in everyone's throats. They knew... They knew where he was, so why didn't they tell me?! 

"Please, I just want to know-"

"For fuck's sake, will you shut up?" Miss Dorothy spat, her eyes red. "From now on no one says a word, not a single word. Do I make myself clear?" She pronounced every word slowly, giving each syllable a deadly consequence. It was almost as if she was trying to hide something, something bigger than the lies swirling all around her, bigger than the empty shape in her eyes, something that destroyed and killed.

My thoughts accelerated inside my head, panic licking up my spine, commanding my heart to pound out of control. 

Before I lost it, I felt someone's gelid fingers on top of my mine. At first just a mere touch, then stronger. A grasp, so demanding it made me come back in seconds.

Hannah grasped my hand, leaning into my ear abruptly. "Calm down, will you? Vince in the trunk, he's -"

Before she could finish that sentence, Miss Dorothy had slapped her right in the face. "What about the not-talking-part didn't you get? For now on, no one breathes a single word, understood? Not a single word." 

As she said that, I saw from my peripheral vision that we were approaching the exit of the park, and beside it, right in front of at the gates stood a police man, dressed in a black uniform and combat boots, camouflaging him through the darkness of the night. Still, he was there.

White fog clouded my vision, making my head spun. I tried to stay focused by breathing slowly. It worked for a while, but as we approached the gates my heart started firing beats like an unstoppable gun.

After all, this was my only shot.

Mr. Colton slowed down the car as the police man approached us. I felt Miss Dorothy's hand gripping my right leg. "Not a single breath." She commanded acutely in my ear, low enough so that only I could hear.

Outside, the man mentioned for Mr. Colton to roll down the window. Slowly, Mr. Colton obeyed. The man leaned in, a cigar burning between his white teeth and the thick beard. 

"Good night, officer." Mr. Colton stated respectfully.

The man gave him a reverential nod in return, peering inside the car. "I see you have quite a big family here." His eyes lingered on the back seat of the car, taking everyone in and then settling upon me.